Night of the Apocalypse

“You don’t need to be nervous; it’s just a routine inquiry. We’re from the nearby Kaishen Substation. My name is Liao Kai, and this is Lin Xiaoyu.”

Liao Kai said with a yawn.

“Okay.”

Shen Qiu nodded in response.

“Then let’s get started. May I ask how you would like to be addressed, and could you please show me your identification?”

Lin Xiaoyu said straightforwardly.

“My name is Shen Qiu. Here’s my ID card.”

Shen Qiu took out his wallet from his pocket, retrieved his ID card, and handed it over.

Lin Xiaoyu took out a small device, scanned Shen Qiu’s ID card, and the screen displayed a normal status.

She nodded to Liao Kai beside her, indicating that Shen Qiu’s identity was fine—he was not a wanted criminal and was a resident of Sky City.

Since the Red Alliance only has eight large economic cities, they cannot accommodate such a large population. Therefore, people from outside the Tenth Ring must apply to enter the city and cannot stay for long periods; otherwise, they will face detention and fines.

“Mr. Shen Qiu, may I ask why you’re coming back so late? And why are you dressed so strangely, with a knife on your waist?”

Liao Kai inquired with experience.

“Liao Kai, it’s not that he’s dressed strangely; he’s COSPLAYING!”

Before Shen Qiu could respond, Lin Xiaoyu corrected him from the side.

“I know this is COSPLAY; don’t interrupt me. Isn’t he playing that assassin samurai character?”

Liao Kai felt somewhat embarrassed and quickly defended himself.

“It’s the Black Knight, not an assassin samurai.”

Shen Qiu sighed and replied.

“Oh, it’s the Black Knight? I’m getting older and my memory isn’t what it used to be. Let’s get back to business. Mr. Shen Qiu, it’s so chaotic outside; why are you coming back so late?”

Liao Kai asked with a smile,

“Of course, I went to shoot for work. Otherwise, who would come back so late?”

Shen Qiu explained calmly.

“Exactly! If it weren’t for work, who would come back at this hour? If I had nothing going on, I would have gone home to sleep earlier.”

Lin Xiaoyu complained empathetically.

“Ahem, stop talking nonsense! Mr. Shen Qiu, if you don’t mind, could we check your backpack?”

Although Liao Kai appeared somewhat laid-back, his work experience was not to be underestimated.

Shen Qiu quickly thought it over. He recalled what was inside his backpack, and the most noticeable items were the jewels. He planned to argue that they were props. As for the other contents, as long as they didn’t dig too deeply, they might be overlooked. With this in mind, he decided to take a gamble and said,

“No problem.”

“Thank you very much.”

Liao Kai replied with a broad smile. He was genuinely worried that Shen Qiu wouldn’t cooperate. If things got tense and he didn’t find anything, and then Shen Qiu filed a complaint against him, he would lose his bonus for the month.

Shen Qiu then took off his backpack, and Liao Kai stepped forward to unzip it.

At that moment, Shen Qiu felt a surge of tension; his heart began to race.

However, just then, a terrified scream echoed from within the Xiangyuan community.

“Help! Someone’s dead!”

Liao Kai and Lin Xiaoyu’s expressions changed dramatically; they didn’t care about Shen Qiu anymore and immediately rushed inside.

Shen Qiu also wore a look of confusion as he put his backpack back on and followed them inside.

He saw a middle-aged woman in pajamas running out in sheer terror.

Many residents of the community, hearing that someone was dead, also rushed out in panic.

Lin Xiaoyu immediately rushed over to support the middle-aged woman and asked,

“Big sister, don’t panic. What happened?”

“My husband, my husband was killed!”

The middle-aged woman cried out as she regained her composure upon seeing Lin Xiaoyu and Liao Kai.

The residents who had followed her out also had their faces change drastically and began to discuss among themselves.

“There really is a dead person!”

“Could it be that a murderer broke in?”

Liao Kai’s expression shifted immediately as he quickly asked,

“Who did it? Did you see the killer?”

“It was a mosquito, a really big mosquito.”

The middle-aged woman said in terror.

Hearing this, Lin Xiaoyu was also taken aback and asked in confusion,

“You can’t be serious? A mosquito killed your husband?”

“That’s right, it was a mosquito, a really big one!”

The middle-aged woman exclaimed in fear.

“How is that possible? A mosquito can’t kill someone!”

“Exactly! How big can a mosquito be? Even if it were huge, it couldn’t do that!”

The surrounding crowd voiced their doubts.

Shen Qiu, who was mingling among the crowd, narrowed his eyes.

Lin Xiaoyu hesitated before asking,

“Big sister, are you sure you’re not mistaken?”

“How could I be mistaken? It scared me to death! That mosquito was this big, almost the size of a soccer ball!”

The middle-aged woman trembled as she gestured with her hands.

“That’s impossible.”

Lin Xiaoyu didn’t know what else to say.

Liao Kai interrupted Lin Xiaoyu and said,

“Don’t say that. There have been too many strange occurrences lately; it’s hard to say for sure. Let’s grab our weapons and go take a look. If there really is a mosquito that big, it wouldn’t be surprising if it could kill someone. Big sister, where do you live?”

“I live in Building 7, Room 1403!”

The middle-aged woman hurriedly replied.

Liao Kai then addressed the gathered residents,

“Everyone except those from Building 7 should hurry back home, close your doors and windows, and don’t look anymore.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Qiu didn’t linger and immediately headed home.

Before long, Shen Qiu arrived at his front door.

He opened the door, stepped inside, immediately turned on the lights, and closed the door behind him. He scanned the living room.

Everything in his home was just as he had left it.

Shen Qiu then walked toward the bedroom, took off his backpack, and emptied its contents.

He stuffed the file folder and books onto the bookshelf, then placed the jewelry, chips, and wristbands into his clothing pockets.

Next, he put the bottle of medicine into the medicine cabinet, mixing it in with his own medications.

The mechanical knife that he had clipped to his waist was placed on the bedside table, in the most visible spot, serving as a decoration.

As for the water bottles, he just tossed them under the bed, ate all the snacks, and threw the packaging into the trash can.

It wasn’t that Shen Qiu didn’t want to hide things properly; it was just that there weren’t many discreet places in his home.

At that moment, a thought occurred to him: perhaps he should consider finding a hiding place or buying a safe or something similar.

Once Shen Qiu had hidden his belongings, he walked to the refrigerator in the living room.

He opened it, intending to grab something to eat to settle his stomach.

Just then, terrified screams echoed from the hallway outside!

“Ah! A mosquito! A mosquito!”

Hearing the panicked cries, Shen Qiu’s expression changed slightly, and he rushed out.

He saw an elderly woman trembling in the hallway, holding a kitchen knife and pointing it at a giant mosquito flying around.

Its size was indeed as big as a soccer ball.

At that moment, other doors began to open, and neighbors rushed out with mops and brooms in hand.

Seeing this, Shen Qiu took a big step forward, snatched the kitchen knife from the elderly woman’s hand, and threw it sharply at the mosquito!

Click!

The kitchen knife struck the giant mosquito dead on the spot!

“It’s okay now, Grandma Wang!”

Shen Qiu comforted the elderly woman in front of him.

“Xiao Qiu, it’s all thanks to you.”

Grandma Wang grasped Shen Qiu’s hand and said.

Although Shen Qiu didn’t particularly like to meddle in other people’s affairs, the neighbors on this floor were all very nice. They knew he was an orphan and had looked out for him in their own ways.

At that moment, hurried footsteps approached, and Lin Xiaoyu and Liao Kai rushed in.

Seeing the corpse of the giant mosquito on the ground, they were momentarily stunned!

“Who killed this?”

“I did.”

Shen Qiu replied nonchalantly.

“You’re that capable?”

Lin Xiaoyu looked at Shen Qiu in surprise.

At this time, Grandma Wang and the others began to speak up.

“Oh, what’s so strange about it? Xiao Qiu is really impressive; he’s won many championship titles in competitions.”

“Exactly! Big brother is very strong!”

Lily, holding Grandma Wang’s hand, chimed in.

“If you’re that strong, why don’t you join the military or volunteer?”

Lin Xiaoyu asked curiously.

Liao Kai picked up his device, entered Shen Qiu’s name, and pulled up his profile. After glancing at it, he sighed in regret and said,

“Lin Xiaoyu, don’t say anymore; he can’t enlist.”

“Why not?”

Lin Xiaoyu asked curiously.

“He has a history of mental illness.”

Liao Kai sighed as he said this.